An endless desert.
Howling winds whipped massive quantities of dust into the sky, blotting out the sun and forming a thick layer of haze.
Across the desert, twelve warlocks rode enormous lizards, pushing steadily forward.
"Living up to its reputation as the Forgotten Land — this concentration of elemental particles!"
Leilin glanced at the statistical chart displayed by the Chip and shook his head. By comparison, even the South Coast and the Dark Polar Domain were vastly superior. This place was a desert not only in geography but also in elemental particle density. No wonder only those wizards and non-human races with nowhere else to turn would choose to live here.
Leilin estimated that without the ancestral map, even the ancient Gubler would have had no choice but to scrape by in a place like this.
"In truth, most wanted criminals and fugitives only need to flee to the City of Sin. In the eyes of the wizards of the Central Continent, being sent to the City of Sin is already tantamount to exile. Only those who are truly vicious and can't even survive in the City of Sin — who are hunted everywhere — would choose to enter this place. So we must be careful!"
Though he'd said it more than once,
*Crack!* Two deep-yellow corrosive spheres shot through the air and burst mid-flight, scattering into countless droplets.
The moment the droplets touched the yellow sand, they released billowing plumes of smoke, and visible corrosive pits began to sink deeper and deeper.
"Squeak! Squeak!"
Several earth-yellow shadows shrieked and fled a considerable distance.
Leilin could see them clearly. Though they had a single head and human-like limbs, they stood no taller than seven- or eight-year-old children. Their heads were pointed and rat-like, with two enormous white fangs exposed. Their bodies were covered in fur, and a thin, long black tail trailed behind them.
"Ratkin! A type of Beastkin! Lab creations left behind by ancient warlocks!"
Leilin quickly recalled everything he knew about the Ratkin.
The ancient era had been the most glorious age of the
"Luoya, what are you doing?"
Robin barked at Luoya, who had just launched the attack.
"Uncle, I was just…" Luoya lowered his head in embarrassment.
"You can't attack carelessly here. It weakens your own strength and gives other enemies an opening! Besides, Ratkin are an extremely tight-knit race. The blood from their wounded will likely attract even more Ratkin. We need to leave this area as soon as possible!"
Robin's face darkened with anger, but considering that this junior was still on his first expedition, he softened his tone slightly.
"I'm sorry!" Luoya couldn't find the words. Though he was no longer young and had already reached the strength of a Third-rank Warlock, his actual combat experience was probably less than that of some Second-rank Wizards.
The Kemoyin Giant Snake Warlocks were precious resources within the Ring of the Ouroboros and had been well protected. So even though Luoya had read relevant knowledge, in practice he still felt at a loss.
At Robin's command, the lizards beneath them immediately picked up speed.
But it was already too late. Reality proved that Robin's warning had been correct — in less than half a day, they were completely surrounded by a massive swarm of Ratkin.
"Damn it! How are there so many?!"
Luoya's face flushed red as he stared at the scene before him. Over two thousand Ratkin had gathered into a vast wave that encircled them. The stench was so overpowering it nearly made him vomit.
"One of the Ratkin's defining traits is their tremendous reproductive capacity, and they have almost no requirements for living conditions. Other species might struggle to survive in the Forgotten Land, but for Ratkin it's no problem at all. They can subsist on rotting underground vegetation and maggots, and when desperate enough, they'll even gnaw on sand and stone!"
Leilin explained to Luoya in a calm voice.
"If only these trash were outside!" Luoya gritted his teeth. Though they had Spiritual Power Potions for replenishment, they still needed to be economical.
"There's no other way! Ordinary Ratkin already possess tremendous resistance to radiation, nearly on par with Third-rank Apprentices, while adult Ratkin elites have the strength of full-fledged Wizards. The leader of this Ratkin swarm is particularly cunning — I suspect it isn't even here!"
Robin kept his eyes closed. A white eyeball materialized on his forehead, clearly using a detection spell to search for the Ratkin leader's location.
In this situation, the best way to minimize expenditure would be to take out the enemy leader directly, but the Ratkin had clearly anticipated this.
"We're in trouble! Dar, prepare to engage!"
Robin opened his eyes and addressed the warlocks behind him. The five Horar Black Snake Warlocks who had been following him stepped forward, waves of energy rippling from their bodies, causing the Ratkin swarm to falter.
Robin and the others were the main fighting force and couldn't afford to be wasted here, so they had to use their retainers and subordinates to hold the line first.
"You lot prepare to assist as well!" Kasha ordered the three warlocks from her family behind her.
Leilin looked around. He was the only one without any companions or servants. "Never mind — their spiritual power and mana are also precious and can't be wasted here. I'll handle it!"
"Leilin, you? …Very well! Right now you're the best suited for this situation!" Robin seemed to recall Leilin's identity as an Apothecary and nodded in agreement.
"Get out of the way, or I'll make you pay!"
Leilin rode his lizard forward, and the terrifying fluctuation of Third-rank Vaporization radiated from his body.
The Ratkin swarm recoiled even more violently, but not a single Ratkin withdrew.
Leilin sighed inwardly. This kind of natural aura suppression worked well on lower-intelligence animals, but its effectiveness dropped significantly against humanoid intelligent creatures — especially when they had a leader directing them.
Of course, if Leilin used his Third-rank innate spell — Terror Deterrence — there would be no issue at all. It was no longer simple aura pressure but an all-encompassing suppression akin to a domain.
However, using a Third-rank innate spell just to deal with these Ratkin on the outskirts of the Forgotten Land was far too extravagant.
As Leilin pondered this, watching the Ratkin already charging toward them, a silver light flickered across his hand and several test tubes radiating different colored glows materialized out of thin air.
*Whoosh!* A fiery red test tube was thrown by Leilin and exploded in mid-air, forming a massive ring of fire that encircled Leilin and his companions.
"Fire Repulsion Ring!"
Then, two pale blue test tubes flew out, unleashing gale-force winds that blew the flames outward in all directions.
"Wind Gust!"
"And finally, the Scorching Oil Potion!" Leilin threw once more. A dark brown potion exploded in midair, releasing a gas that spread like ink oil.
*BOOM!* The moment the earlier flames encountered this oily gas, their intensity skyrocketed. Massive tongues of fire swept outward in every direction.
"Third-rank Potion Combination Spell — Prairie Fire Inferno!"
Enormous flames raced along the ground, as if driven by an invisible force, encircling the Ratkin on all sides.
Countless fire serpents surged forward, sweeping vast numbers of Ratkin into the inferno. The crackling sound of roasting flesh filled the air.
"Squeak! Squeak!"
Hordes of Ratkin were reduced to charred husks. This terrifying sight immediately caused the outermost Ratkin to begin fleeing, though only a fraction of them.
By the end, the majority of the Ratkin had fused with the scorched earth into a single blackened mass, and a stench ten times worse than before wafted into the air.
"To think he used several First-rank and Second-rank potions to simulate the effects of a Third-rank spell! Truly worthy of being a Grandmaster Apothecary!"
Robin praised him sincerely. "And this style of combat doesn't consume any spiritual power or mana — it's perfectly suited for the Forgotten Land!"
"Just the results of my usual experiments," Leilin replied with a modest smile.
In truth, he agreed. The combination's power amplification only reached about seventy percent — far from the qualitative transformation achieved by Morning Star killing techniques that combined multiple spells.
But Leilin had developed a great interest in this method of combination and had been researching it continuously. This potion combination spell was one product of those experiments.
"It's all fine and well, but it's just too disgusting!"
Kasha covered her nose with an embroidered handkerchief edged in gold, her face twisted in revulsion.
The other Third-rank Warlocks didn't look much better. Luoya in particular had gone deathly pale and looked like he was about to retch at any moment.
Surveying the area, everywhere except the ground beneath their feet had been reduced to scorched earth. The distinctive stench of the Ratkin had only intensified after the burning.
"All right, get used to it. You'll have to face plenty more of this in the future!"
Robin clapped Luoya firmly on the shoulder, while his gaze toward Leilin was filled with undisguised admiration.
Around here, only he and Leilin could still chat with such composure.
To accommodate everyone's condition, Robin quickly led the group onward.
Thanks to the earlier lesson, everyone was far more cautious this time. Even Luoya had mellowed considerably, following obediently behind the group to learn from experience.
Leilin then discovered that this Forgotten Land truly lived up to its reputation as the Central Continent's dumping ground — all manner of bizarre creatures could be found here. Some were the products of failed experiments that had escaped, while others were species rarely seen even elsewhere in the Central Continent.
And regardless of what species they were, they all shared one common trait: they either had some kind of deficiency or carried troublesome attributes like corrosive properties or deadly poison.
In short, they were of little use and held no value for wizards.